Provisions by the Pavilion – Bournville Ale & Streetfood Festival

Late Summer, the sun was shining, and Wifey and I made a change from our usual City Centre haunts and ventured a little further afield to historic Bournville. those who know a little about the history of Birmingham will know the vast majority of it was built for the workers of Cadbury. What you may not know is there are no Public houses in Bournville and Rowheath Pavilion (today’s destination) only began to serve alcohol at their members bar in the 1960’s.

So a unique destination for an Ale and Streetfood festival, lets check it out!

Rowheath Pavillion

We arrived when the festival was in full swing. with a wide variety of stalls (and queues) to see and enjoy.

Today was no exception to Andy’s meaty maestro-ness and Wifey and i picked up lamb shank taco’s with Feta, Salsa and Coriander.

Lamb Shank Tacos from Low’n’Slow

The lamb was soft, tender and melted in the mouth. It combined great with the crumbly, tangy cheese. A great start to our food for the day.

After lining the stomach it was time for a drink, however, a quick trip to the bar turned more into an expedition.

Bar Queue at Rowheath Pavilion

Of the two real ale bars, one was completely out and the second was down to one ale. the regular bar had opened up to help the flow of regular drinks, but a queue was tailing back and growing by the minute. the Ale and Streetfood festival turned more into a Streetfood Festival.

Good job I love streetfood!

Back outside it was time to visit the vintage Citroen H Van of the team from Pietanic, whom we previously saw at Sarehole Mill.

Pietanic Van

The choice this time was a Chicken & Chorizo pie with a mini iceberg of mash in an ocean of gravy (groan).

Chicken & Chorizo Pie from Pietanic

The mash was made from skin on potatoes to add extra texture but still kept a good amount of creaminess. The pie again was excellent. It was a struggle to wrestle it from Wifey’s hands as it was her first experience of Pietanic. From what morsel I salvaged the chicken was well done yet soft and moist. the chorizo added a welcome spicy pop without overriding the chicken.

Next along the food tour was another streetfood stall previously featured, Scratch Cooking, this time swapping wings for Paella

Wifey loved it, nice big prawns, fresh mussels and veggie rice. The portion was too much for her. The only thing which was a misstep came from the heat. By the time I’d got it back to the seating area the the dish was more warm than hot but still with enough heat to keep it enjoyable. A bit more warmth would just make it better.

Whilst Wifey was going through her Mediterranean feast. I went for something a little more North American with Caribou Poutine, who’e been running pretty much as long as this blog, so a relative new comer to the Brum scene. It hasn’t stopped them making a splash with events such as Taste & Liquor, Brum Yum Yum and Digbeth Dining Club.

Poutine is a Canadian speciality involving chips / fries gravy and cheese curds. sounds a bit different from the usual cheesy chips eh!

Caribou Poutine Menu

I chose the Miss Piggy as I still felt the need for more meaty goodness. A bit of slow cooked pulled pork, streaky bacon and sausage seemed a marriage made in heaven to go with chips, curds and gravy.

Miss Piggy from Caribou Poutine

it was HOT (heat not spicy) and cooked my fingertips on the way back to the eating area. I can see why it’s so popular tough, a mammoth portion of fries were hidden under mounds of meat and cheese curds.

The dish was one of those which gives you an almost Ready-Brek glow of warmth and heartiness. I can see why its so popular in the cooler parts of Canada, even on a late summer day it gave me a cozy feeling. I’ll certainly be back again for more soon.

To burn off a few calories Wifey and I went for a stroll around the park prior to making our exit. We were originally going to have a waffle to finish but the queue, which had been large all day seemed to be even longer. I’ll have to get them next time!

Waffle Queue

Here’s a few of the other traders present whom we wish we could have got round too. Surprisingly my appetite does have a limit so we couldn’t do them all!